A medium sized duck pond is in the middle of the park. Old row boats are still tied to the edges of the pond. There are stands near the edge of the pond that advertise birdseed, and there is a sign near the water that says swimming is prohibited.

Theo found himself, hours later, in the duck pond, thoroughly exhausted, half-starved, filthy, and emotionally drained. He might've just escaped a death sentence, for all he knew but at the same time this couldn't go on.

He sat down on a park bench, and watched as the sun began to set over the water. He needed food, or he could legitimately starve, especially if nobody was willing to share with a killer.

Which of course was highly unlikely.

Theo felt nauseated, and it wasn't just because he hadn't eaten in hours; he was a murderer, a genuine killer of two people. On one hand, if he was the last one standing, he'd go home. On the other, did he really deserve it? A two-time killer. Twice.

Theo shook his head, and sighed. He needed a miracle at this point if he was going to eat tonight.

Somewhere in the midst of his confusion, his doubt, and his fear, the park put him at ease. Things felt almost normal here. A little untended to, sure, but he preferred it when nature was allowed to run its course, with only trace signs of man's influence. It was relaxing.

Then again, he wasn't supposed to be relaxing. He was supposed to be helping.

He took off his hat and ran a hand through greasy black hair, frowning up at the sky. One girl prevented from hurting anyone. And that just for a day. God, what a miserable legacy.

Then he came upon the duck pond. And upon Theo Fletcher, standing not 10 feet away. He recognized Theo at once. They'd played DnD together before, when Xavier had been trying to play a dual-wielding paladin badass.

So he was aware of the guy. And aware that his name had surfaced on the announcements. Twice.

"Don't move," Xavier said, drawing his gun and pointing it before he had time to think.

G072 Mirabelle Nesa (DECEASED): "I'm a weak little girl who couldn't save anyone, even myself, but god damn it I beat you and god damn it you are going to remember that because I am Mirabelle Nesa and I am a hardened goddamn warrior and I am not going to fucking give up now!"

Theo whipped around to see Xavier. He knew Xavier from doing a few tabletop games together, but they'd never been particularly friendly outside of that. He was pretty sure Xavier wasn't a killer.

But he also knew that he was probably going to try and kill him anyways. Theo wondered if some crazy person, somewhere, was claiming to channel Gabby's spirit and sending legions of vigilantes after him.

Theo stood, and held his hands up as Xavier pointed a large gun at him. "Okay, dude, let's...let's just stay calm and talk about this. Do you really feel able to shoot someone in cold blood like this? It isn't easy, and it'll haunt you, trust me."

Theo stepped around the bench, and stood roughly 10 feet from Xavier. He did not want to end up dead from this, and while he didn't want this to get too violent, he needed to be prepared to defend himself as quickly as possible.

"I said don't move!" Xavier barked, but this time he couldn't conceal the tremor in his voice. Yesterday SotF had been an abstraction--in spite of that shotgun, he'd seen no dead. Today, he knew his friends were killing each other. Worse, he was speaking with one of the killers.

But wasn't Theo right? Could Xavier really shoot him down in cold blood like this?

G072 Mirabelle Nesa (DECEASED): "I'm a weak little girl who couldn't save anyone, even myself, but god damn it I beat you and god damn it you are going to remember that because I am Mirabelle Nesa and I am a hardened goddamn warrior and I am not going to fucking give up now!"

Theo paused for a moment. Xavier's question was one he'd had all day. Why did he murder two people? Why had he done as they wanted him to, and given in and killed people, two innocent students his age? Why?

"Okay, uh, Xavier? We can talk, just.. just put, put the gun down, it makes it kind of hard to focus, y'know? I've had a gun pointed at me before, and I guess now, and it's really fucking stressful."

Theo gazed at Xavier. What was running through the other boy's head? Was he still thinking of shooting him? Theo wasn't sure how accurate Xavier would be, but the closeness of them really made Theo concerned. It'd be hard to miss him at this range.

"Kay, so if you could just set the gun down on the ground, I can explain what happened. You can keep it by your feet, if you want."

This boy had killed two people. Faces Xavier had seen in the halls. Now they would never blink, or smile, or stare blindly ahead beneath fluorescent lights. All that life, gone. All those stories, gone.

G072 Mirabelle Nesa (DECEASED): "I'm a weak little girl who couldn't save anyone, even myself, but god damn it I beat you and god damn it you are going to remember that because I am Mirabelle Nesa and I am a hardened goddamn warrior and I am not going to fucking give up now!"

Xavier stared at the other boy for a moment. Tense face, but unflinching. Owning to his deed. That was worth something, wasn't it?

He's a killer.

Yeah, but how? Had there been a fight that had gone wrong? Had he bought into the game's faulty logic? What would be the point of killing him, monstrous as he was?

He was a Nicholas D. Wolfwood, a Nico Robin, an Itachi. His sins didn't necessarily mean he couldn't be redeemed.

Besides, he wasn't the only killer.

"Okay," Xavier said, nodding. "Then you'll come with me." He jerked his head out to the island. "You'll show them that even if they go wrong, they can come back. You'll prove you can make amends." He smiled shakily, his insides aching with the gladness that he wouldn't have to kill this boy.

G072 Mirabelle Nesa (DECEASED): "I'm a weak little girl who couldn't save anyone, even myself, but god damn it I beat you and god damn it you are going to remember that because I am Mirabelle Nesa and I am a hardened goddamn warrior and I am not going to fucking give up now!"

Theo desperately wanted to follow Xavier. He wanted to be accepted, and to somehow wage a fight with the terrorists and win and go home and recover from this awful situation and redeem himself to the Parker and Liu family. He wanted things to end like an anime, like a Pokémon game, where good triumphed over evil.

But Theo knew better.

This was reality, and in reality morals had no say in who was victorious. In real life, the winners were the smartest, the cleverest, the strongest, the wisest, most prepared

the most ruthless.

When Xavier turned, Theo made his move. His goal; get Xavier's gun and bag and make a break for it. He lunged forward, crossing the distance in a second and full-force tackling Xavier, and sending them both slamming to the ground.

Wasn't that right? Wasn't that the way it should be? The sinner repenting his sin? No doubt now they'd travel together, the lawful good paladin and his chaotic good charge, each teaching the other so much along the way. They'd laugh, they'd love, they'd learn.

So why did Xavier feel sick inside? Why did he feel even worse than he had on hearing the Announcements.

When Theo hit him from behind, Xavier felt a lot of things. Pain. Betrayal. Doubt. Guilt. Shock. But above this electric mixture bubbling in the pit of his stomach, he felt one clear emotion.

Relief.

Theo as a Nicholas D. Wolfwood was complicated. Theo as the sinner on the path of redemption, that was hard. Xavier had a sudden intense feeling for just how special a Ruroni Kenshin or Vash had to be, to trust such murderers to really change. God, how difficult was forgiveness, trust, redemption.

When Theo hit, the little nagging voice in Xavier's head-the one that wanted to shoot Stacy and Theo--was able to win out. And for a brief, beautiful instant, Xavier knew what it was to give into anger and unleash pain.

He was twisting already as the two fell (gun knocked from his hand, who knew where). When they hit the ground, Xavier already had his hands around Theo's throat. No time for thought. No time for doubt.

He'd been training for over a year now, but he didn't realize what that had done for him until he kicked out with such violence that Theo was knocked to one side. Both scrambled to their feet at once, and Theo tried to tackle Xavier again: Xavier socked him in the face so that his knuckles stung, then punched him in the stomach. Such beautiful pain on Theo's face, such hurt, such shock. God, this was violence? This was vengeance?

G072 Mirabelle Nesa (DECEASED): "I'm a weak little girl who couldn't save anyone, even myself, but god damn it I beat you and god damn it you are going to remember that because I am Mirabelle Nesa and I am a hardened goddamn warrior and I am not going to fucking give up now!"